SINGAPORE (Nov 4): The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has recovered the assets acquired by Low Taek Jho, aka Jho Low, the fugitive businessman wanted in relation to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.
The assets, located in the US, the UK and Switzerland, are estimated to be worth more than US$700 million ($950 million), and were allegedly misappropriated from 1MDB. With the recovery of these assets, the civil forfeiture cases brought against Low come to a close, three years after the DOJ made a claim for the assets.
“This settlement agreement forces Low and his family to relinquish hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains that were intended to be used for the benefit of the Malaysian people, and it sends a signal that the United States will not be a safe haven for the proceeds of corruption,” Assistant Attorney General Brian A Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said in a statement.
